In 1987, Contra blasted its way onto the arcade scene with its unique, innovative, and action-packed side-scrolling, run-‘n’-gun gameplay that was ahead of its time and led to many sequels across various consoles. It is one of the legendary franchises made by Konami along with Metal Gear Solid, Castlevania, Silent Hill, and more.

After shifting their focus to mobile games and pachinko machines for several years, Konami has been bringing back their long-forgotten franchises. This time, the original Contra gets completely remade as Contra: Operation Galuga, this time developed by WayForward and is now available on PlayStation 4|5, Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch and PC.

When the terrorist group known as Red Falcon take control of the Galuga Islands off the coast of New Zealand, elite Contra commandos Bill Rizer and Lance Bean spring into action, embarking on a mission that leads to an all-out war in which the fate of mankind hangs in the balance. Bill and Lance will face an onslaught of enemies while meeting new allies who join them on their mission to take down Red Falcon.

Contra: Operation Galuga is a complete remake of the original game from 1987 with major upgrades to the gameplay and graphics. The remake includes three modes with Story Mode, Arcade Mode, and Challenge Mode.

Story Mode can be played with one or two players across eight stages, which can be individually selected later and feature fully voice-acted cutscenes. The cutscenes aren’t exactly the most exciting to watch, since the real excitement is in the gameplay, but they do add more context to the story that the original game couldn’t do. Players will also encounter certain characters who will become playable.

Arcade Mode is the same as Story Mode, but without all the cutscenes and gets you straight into the action and can go up to a whopping four players using any of the available characters. Even if having more than one player can be problematic having to keep up with each other, it’s still way more fun than doing it solo. Unfortunately, online multiplayer is not included.

Challenge Mode features 30 individual missions such as speed runs, completing a stage without firing your weapon, more enemies to face, changed conditions, and more. This remake offers plenty of replay value, especially for fans of the classic games in the series.

The gameplay style goes back to its roots and will feel very familiar to longtime fans. While running, players can shoot in any direction and this game has the option to switch between the classic 8-way aim or a full 360 aim, allowing for more precise shots. It feels odd that there’s no twin-stick shooting option, as this does feel like a game that would benefit from it. Players can even decide if they want to play with a health bar or 1 Hit Kill for a classic and even more challenging experience.

Each character isn’t just a reskinning of each other doing the same moves. They each have something unique such as a double jump, grappling hook, power slide, flight, and more. Up to two perks can be equipped such as extra health, retained power-ups, or instant power-ups, and more perks can be bought in the Perk Shop using in-game currency.

Up to two weapon power-ups can be attained to boost their guns such as spread shot, flamethrower, homing missiles, plus more, and this time up to two power-ups can be held and switched between at the press of a button. The power-ups can even be overloaded out of desperation to take out large groups of enemies or deal bigger damage to the bosses.

The variety of enemy types is very much like the ones seen in most Contra games and becomes progressively more challenging as players progress through the game. They will try to gun you down, lunge at you, poison you, and more. Some of the bosses will look familiar but have received a major upgrade and some new bosses await with some big surprises.

The graphics may feel outdated, like a game from the early 2000s, but still look great and complement the cartoonish art style the game is going for, which works well for Bill and Lance’s designs. The environments look more alive than ever across all eight stages. Seeing bullets fly and machines explode adds so much to the intensity and excitement of the game.

Konami has been going through a resurgence reviving their long-forgotten franchises, whether it’s porting older games to modern consoles such as Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Cowabunga Collection, and Metal Gear Solid: Master Collection, or full remakes such as this game or the upcoming Metal Gear Solid Delta: Snake Eater, and Silent Hill 2.

Hopefully, this will inspire Konami to revisit more of their other games in the archives like Castlevania, Frogger, or even games from studios they purchased such as Bomberman, and Bloody Roar. Until then, Konami will have plenty to keep us busy and it’s exciting to see what else might be down the pipeline.

Contra: Operation Galuga isn’t just a one-for-one remake with a facelift of the Konami classic from 37 years ago. It adds more context to the story and isn’t afraid to change things up. Fans of the original game will find plenty of surprises from start to finish.

It doesn’t feel like it’s trying to replace the classic, but be a whole new challenge to veteran players. Contra: Operation Galuga is an absolute blast to play solo or with friends, that is a great starting point for newer players and delivers plenty of fan service for longtime fans.

Written by: Sammy Hanson